The first few paragraphs of this article cover the recent announcements about Smash Bros. 4. If you missed the news, read them to catch up. If you already are caught up, you may as well skip to the start of the list.

For anyone who hasn’t heard, On April 1st, Nintendo announced that Mewtwo and Lucas would be added to the games as DLC, and fans could vote for more future DLC characters. Naturally, fans freaked out and this roster update brought a second wave of excitement.

All characters naturally in the game are shown, and the ??? place refers to characters already hidden in the game as unlockables. Mewtwo is the main change, but the speculation is all about those five spaces after it. The general consensus is that those are either for five new characters based on what fans vote for, or four plus Lucas.

Both theories completely ignore the possibility that they’re just meaningless placeholders in a 5×9 grid, and having more or less of them would just look odd. In actuality, I expect Nintendo hasn’t yet settled on a number for DLC characters. The voting doesn’t close for months, and the programming will take more time. They’ll probably see how much they make off people paying for Mewtwo and Lucas, and gauge the demand.

And now that I’ve sufficiently smack-talked overzealous speculation, let’s enjoy some speculation, by looking at a few possible characters I think this whole thing might give us. These aren’t my personal top choices, just some thoughts on likely candidates. As the characters will be chosen by Nintendo based on fans’ votes, this will be based heavily on polls and discussion I’ve seen on new characters.

1) Banjo and Kazooie:

Classic Nintendo characters! Except they’re not. While their most beloved games, Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo Tooie, were N64 exclusive, Banjo and Kazooie are owned by Rareware, which is now property of Microsoft. While it’s not unheard of for non-Nintendo characters to appear in Smash Bros. (see Sonic), I think Duckhunt was added partially as a proxy for the bear and bird. I just don’t see this one happening.

2) Ice Climbers:

This one actually has some popularity, and I just want to know, why? Does anybody like the Ice Climbers? Again, I doubt this is gonna happen. Partly because then fan following just isn’t strong enough, and partly because Sakurai’s already explained why they’re not in there already. The team allegedly had them ready for the WiiU version, but couldn’t get the two to function properly on the 3DS. Sakurai has stated that he doesn’t want to have a character on one version but not the other. I doubt the Ice Climbers will get enough votes to change that philosophy.

3) Inkling:

Hell yes! It’s probably the Splatoon hype talking, but I want this one. They’re characters designed for versatile combat, so the gameplay shouldn’t be a problem. It could be a very strategic character, using Ink to gain a lot of influence over parts of the map. Although that would also make it very unbalanced, as exactly how well it fights would dramatically change depending on the stage. Also, it’s hard to say much about a character for a game that’s not out yet. Still, I’d be cool with this.

4) Ridley:

No, guys. I’m sorry, but a giant pterodactyl-dragon just isn’t gonna work. If they do end up doing it, and making it work, that would be ridiculous and awesome. But it’s not gonna happen.

5) Viewtiful Joe:

Yeah actually, that sounds good. I haven’t played a Viewtiful Joe game since the first one, but even with just that it doesn’t take much imagination to put together a move-set. The time control stuff would probably not make it in, or at least severely limited, since it would be annoying in multiplayer, but this is a cool one. And Capcom’s already got a couple characters in, so the licensing side shouldn’t be a problem.

6) Bayonetta:

God, I wish. But of course not. We all know why. The game’s already got its E 10+ rating. We all have to live in this imperfect world with slightly less Bayonetta than conceivably possible.

7) Geno:

Not happening. Why? I wish I knew, but it’s not happening. Nintendo isn’t gonna do it. The fan outcry has been clear since Brawl, and Nintendo does care on this one. Besides, I kinda prefer him remaining that one awesome, kinda obscure character from nearly two decades ago.

8) Waluigi:

It’s perfect. For one, he’s part of the Mario family. Two, he’s unique. It’s not like he’d play like Wario or Luigi at all. We’ve seen enough of the Wa to know he’d be very different. Three, the kids just love him. And four, he’s got the Wa! At this point, Waluigi’s been around long enough that everyone’s at least her of him, and he’s got a following larger than the fanbases of most franchises on this list. What would his move-set be? I don’t know, and I wouldn’t have been able to guess Wario’s before he appeared in Brawl. He’s a weird, wacky member of the Mushroom Kingdom, so give him a weird wacky move-set. Waluigi’s been left out too much in the past. He diligently arrives for ever game of golf, every tennis match, every party since he was created. And yet Nintendo still refuses to give this man his own game? This time it is his right, as a proud resident of the Mushroom Kingdom, to be included. To be Falcon Punched just like everyone else!